I got over my fear surprisingly quickly.
By the time I went under again, all I felt was a slight sense of apprehension.
Before long, the depths of the ocean had become fascinating.
Apparently, I was one of the few who could appreciate them, along with the Deep.
The water was simply too murky in most places.
After all, it covered the majority of Earth’s surface.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that ordinary human eyes were completely unsuited for deep diving.
Light had a hard time penetrating through that much water.
Algae and other plants could only survive within the first hundred or two hundred meters, because beyond that, there simply wasn’t enough light for photosynthesis.
As for the creatures living at greater depths, many of them possessed highly specialized vision adapted to bioluminescence.
Even then, they mostly used it to see one another and distinguish glowing predators from potential mates.
Yellow and red disappeared first, almost immediately.
Within the first fifty meters, I could still see the water as green.
Near a hundred meters, the color gradually shifted from greenish-blue to blue-green.
By three hundred meters, every other color had been swallowed by an almost complete blue-black darkness.
I could still see down there, but beneath me was nothing but impenetrable blackness.
My X-ray vision helped, as did the light from my laser vision.
Even a tiny beam of light provided remarkably good visibility for my eyes.
Underwater navigation was another problem entirely for an ordinary diver.
On the surface, people relied primarily on their eyesight to orient themselves, while their sense of balance was maintained by the vestibular system, their muscles and joints, and sensations from their internal organs and skin whenever their body’s position changed.
Gravity was always acting on them, allowing them to sense even the slightest change in their position.
Down here, however, there was no familiar ground beneath your feet.
Of all the senses humans used to orient themselves in space, the vestibular system was practically the only one that remained useful, with Earth’s gravity still affecting the otoliths in the inner ear.
Fortunately, I wasn’t human anymore.
Thanks to my superhuman physiology, my vestibular system was on an entirely different level from that of an ordinary human.
I could sense my own body and position in the water almost as well as I could in the air.
My speed increased with every passing second, and before long, I reached the ocean floor.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see.
All those theories about the biggest monsters of the deep living at the bottom of the ocean turned out to be nothing more than theories.
I didn’t find anything unknown to humanity.
Not even close.
The same whales.
The same large fish.
The same long, strange-looking fish.
Granted, some of them were surprisingly huge, but that was about it.
So, after roughly an hour, I surfaced near the shore of one of the islands in the Bahamas.
Fortunately, only about thirty of the seven hundred islands were inhabited, which meant there were plenty of places where I could put my clothes back on.
Yes, I’d had to do all that extreme diving with my ass hanging out.
There was no way my swim trunks would have survived the strain.
I snorted at the thought, pulled them back on, and dove into the water again.
A couple of minutes later, I reached an island famous for its pink sand and climbed back onto shore.
After making my way to a sun lounger, I started getting dressed.
That was when my phone rang.
“Yeah, Madelyn?” I answered, watching the children nearby as they built a sandcastle.
One of the boys among them was staring at me a little too intently.
“Where are you?” the woman asked in an anxious voice.
She was clearly not in a good mood.
“The Bahamas. Specifically, Harbour Island. Beautiful place. You should visit sometime.”
“Someone gave V to the CIA, and they’re planning to put me behind bars. I need you here.”
“You need me?” I smiled.
“Madelyn, that’s your problem. And this time, I’m not getting involved.”
“Just don’t tell me this is some kind of impossible situation. I’m not breaking the law for you.”
“You’ve done it plenty of times before! How would you like it if I turned you in to them?” Stillwell shouted hysterically.
Her day really must have been going badly if she was letting this much emotion show.
“Do whatever you want, Madelyn. But you know the consequences, and so do they.”
I snorted into the phone and closed my eyes against the sunlight.
“Just accept their terms.”
“I’ll lose everything. They’ll replace me.”
“Not if I speak up for you. Trust me, Edgar isn’t going to fire you.”
Silence followed on the other end.
“Was this you?” she finally asked, exhaling quietly.
“You must be Homelander!”
The same little boy had approached me.
I smiled and lowered myself onto one knee so we were at eye level.
“Of course I am. But don’t tell anyone, okay?” I grinned at the little troublemaker and pressed a finger to my lips.
“Deal?”
The boy nodded enthusiastically.
He probably thought I was just playing a game with him.
Then he ran back to the other children.
Soon enough, every kid there would know exactly who they’d just been talking to.
“Yes,” Madelyn finally answered through the phone.
My smile only widened.
Long black claws swept past my face, missing me by less than an inch.
The attacks only became faster and more intense from there.
John continued dodging at the very limit of his opponent’s abilities.
He was already several times faster than practically every known supe, with speedsters being the obvious exception.
Those guys were incredibly difficult to outrun on the ground once they built up enough speed.
Of course, that didn’t account for flight.
I smirked at the thought, dodged another attack, and finally struck back.
More accurately, I sent my opponent crashing to the ground.
She got back up with an exaggerated grunt, then dusted the dirt from her clothes.
Rebecca let out a loud breath and glared at me.
“You’re too fast,” the woman complained.
“And you’re too predictable,” John replied with a snort.
He still regretted having to leave the island.
Two days of rest wasn’t much, but it had been enough to recover from everything that had happened.
Annie felt the same way.
She hadn’t been able to stay on Harbour Island for long either.
Vought had scheduled her to film a new show.
John, meanwhile, had flown straight back to the house in the woods. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“Where exactly am I predictable?”
“Be more creative, or someone will disable you easily. Trust me, you’re currently at the level of a strong but fairly average supe.”
He paused.
“That’s according to my standards, anyway. You could probably hold your own against Noir and the Deep.”
“What a flattering assessment,” Becca said, rolling her eyes before launching another straight attack at him.
“Predictable.”
John dodged effortlessly.
He didn’t even need his superhuman abilities this time.
Simple human agility was enough.
“That’s not fair!”
“Keep your hands in front of you,” the man sighed, taking hold of her arms.
“You keep holding them behind you, which makes your swings incredibly easy to read.”
“I see. What next?” Becca asked, clearly interested.
More importantly, she looked genuinely eager to learn.
“Short, fast strikes would work better here.”
The blond demonstrated the movement himself.
“In your case, the important thing isn’t delivering a lethal blow. It’s being able to land one in the first place.”
“What do you mean?”
“Focus on speed and agility instead of brute strength. You need mobility, basically. Charging straight at your opponent isn’t an option unless there’s no other choice.”
“That’s too complicated.”
Becca pursed her lips.
“I know. But you don’t have any particular advantage when it comes to durability, and your ability is geared toward close-quarters combat.”
John sighed.
He couldn’t help thinking about how effective Black Noir was in that regard.
The man had probably been trained by people far more competent than him.
John simply had to work with what he had.
“So what now?”
“Start over.”
The blond stepped back a couple of paces and took off his shirt.
He didn’t want Ryan asking questions about why his clothes had been ruined.
At the same time, he couldn’t help noticing Becca’s eyes lingering on his torso for the first few seconds.
John resisted the urge to enjoy the attention and looked away instead, not wanting to embarrass her.
The rest of the training became much more interesting as Becca changed her fighting style.
Her movements began to resemble those of an animal, which was a clear sign that she was starting to give in to her instincts.
This time, she became far more creative, repeatedly trying to get behind him.
It still didn’t work.
The problem was the noise she made.
John pointed it out every time.
Two hours passed incredibly quickly, almost as if someone had sped up time.
Becca also adapted to her new abilities at an equally impressive pace, becoming faster, more agile, and quieter with every passing minute.
Her attacks became considerably more lethal.
This time, she aimed for the most vulnerable parts of an ordinary human body.
Her eyes, throat, legs, and back were her favorite targets.
Ironically, that was exactly what caused her to fail every time she tried to reach him.
“You’re still too noisy, and you’re still predictable,” John said with a snort as he caught her in midair and threw her to the ground.
“And you’re still rough,” Becca sighed, brushing clumps of dirt from her hair.
“Really? You’ll thank me when these skills save your life.”
John’s expression hardened.
“We aren’t playing games here.”
The moment he looked away to address her, Becca suddenly lunged at him.
She jumped onto him, keeping her claws retracted, grabbed his face between her hands, and passionately kissed him.
She didn’t even understand why she’d done it.
She had simply acted on a sudden impulse.
Strangely enough, she actually managed to catch him off guard.
John responded immediately, soon taking control of the kiss.
He pressed her back against the trunk of a tree, his hands sliding down to her buttocks and squeezing them.
His lips pressed against hers more firmly before gradually, reluctantly, pulling away.
Their eyes met.
Neither of them looked away.
The kiss hadn’t lasted long.
In fact, it had been over almost as quickly as it had begun.
That only made them want more.
And judging by the look in their eyes, it was about to happen again.
“Mom? Dad?”
Ryan’s sudden appearance forced them apart immediately.
“Ryan!”
Becca awkwardly said her son’s name, suddenly having no idea where to look.
“Did something happen?”
“I wanted to ask Dad to play the console with me,” the boy replied.
He looked at his embarrassed mother with confusion, then at his completely calm father.
“Well, if my champion wants to play, how could I say no?”
John smiled, pulled his shirt back on, then scooped the laughing boy into his arms and placed him on his shoulders.
The blond headed toward the house with energetic strides, wondering what he was supposed to do about what had just happened.
“God, what am I doing?”
Becca covered her face with both hands, trying to ignore the embarrassment that had washed over her after her son interrupted them.
A few seconds later, she quietly sighed and followed the two of them.
Her embarrassment gradually faded into the background, as did her thoughts about what she’d done.
Instead, another thought began occupying her mind.
She needed a shower.
Standing beneath a stream of hot water sounded perfect right now.
It would wash the dirt from her hair and the sweat from her body.
More importantly, it would help her forget about everything else for a while.
They reached the house fairly quickly since they hadn’t gone very far.
As soon as they entered, Rebecca headed upstairs and locked herself in the bathroom.
She stared at herself in the mirror and quietly sighed.
This kind of behavior was completely unlike her.
There had never been a moment in her life when she’d simply thrown herself at a man like some wild animal.
Unless…
With a faint sound that even her enhanced hearing could barely detect, long claws slid from her fingertips.
“So, losing control when I’m angry…” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Rebecca murmured thoughtfully.
Only now was she beginning to understand just how much her newly acquired abilities were affecting her.
The realization wasn’t exactly comforting.
At the same time, she felt so good that it was difficult to put into words.
Her body had become incredibly flexible.
She possessed strength far beyond any ordinary human, while her hearing and sense of smell had been enhanced several times over.
Even her sense of taste seemed to have been completely renewed.
Food now offered an entire spectrum of flavors she had never noticed before.
She was different now.
She wasn’t the same Becca her friends, family, and…
Billy knew.
“I need to freshen up.”
Rebecca muttered the words before deciding not to think about any of it for the moment.
John sat focused on the controller, watching the battle playing out on the television between Homelander and Nubia.
Nubia was a Black heroine operating in Brooklyn.
Until recently, she’d worked alongside her husband, the Nubian Prince.
Apparently, things hadn’t been going particularly well between them as a married couple.
But that wasn’t important.
The two of them were currently working separately, and both were doing reasonably well.
Her abilities weren’t bad.
She could fly and fire lightning from her fingertips.
It looked impressive, but in terms of actual effectiveness, it still fell short of Starlight’s light beams.
That had ultimately determined who would join the Seven.
That was Homelander’s reasoning when he took part in selecting the female candidates.
The simple fact was that female heroes always attracted a massive audience.
“And how do you keep winning?” John asked in mock outrage as thick bolts of lightning struck Homelander on the screen.
They were ridiculously exaggerated compared to reality.
Nubia’s lightning was far thinner and too harmless to pose much of a threat even to an average supe, let alone the strongest one alive.
“Homelander is just predictable, Dad.”
Ryan smiled at his father.
“Really?”
“Yeah. He has a limited number of moves, so they’re easy to predict. And…”
The boy hesitated.
“You keep using him.”
Ryan looked slightly embarrassed, as though he considered that an unfair advantage.
“I’m just used to him.”
John smirked at his own simple joke.
He looked at his son and began thinking about the future.
Ryan needed to learn at least something that could protect him.
Flight would be a perfect first skill to master.
As for teaching him how to fire lasers from his eyes, that could wait until he was at least ten.
That ability was simply too powerful, and it required a tremendous amount of control.
John could make his laser vision invisible and reduce the heat to almost nothing.
But the first time someone used the ability, the lasers would naturally come out at full power because of their lack of experience.
“How about another round? We should pick someone else this time.”
John looked thoughtfully at the television.
“Okay.”
Ryan nodded and began selecting another character.
Then the phone rang.
“Yeah, Madelyn?”
John answered, surprised by the sudden call from Stillwell.
She was supposed to be drowning in work right now.
She shouldn’t have had time to call him.
“John, I…”
Madelyn’s voice sounded anxious.
“We need to talk.”
That immediately put him on alert.
“Did something happen?”
“Yes, but this isn’t something I can discuss over the phone.”
“Got it. I’m on my way.”
John ended the call.
Something in her voice told him this was more serious than usual.
“Are you leaving?”
Ryan looked up at him with sad eyes.
“Trust me, it won’t be for long.”
The superhuman gently ruffled his son’s hair, trying to reassure him.
“Will you wait for me?”
“Of course!”
Ryan immediately brightened.
“Good.”
John smiled and headed upstairs to change.
He hadn’t even reached the guest room when Rebecca stepped out of the bathroom.
She looked at him in surprise, then immediately grabbed the towel around her body.
She hastily wrapped it around herself.
Unfortunately, the purple towel was so short that it barely covered what needed to be covered.
John had to make a serious effort not to stare.
He eventually looked away, not wanting to make her even more embarrassed.
“You’re… leaving already.”
Becca stated it rather than asked, and John could hear a hint of displeasure in her voice.
She was more emotional after taking the compound, John noticed.
He couldn’t exactly say he disliked that.
“Yeah. Work.”
He confirmed what she’d already guessed.
“Are we going to talk about… what happened?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay.”
There was a noticeable hint of relief in Becca’s voice before she disappeared into her room.
John stared at the spot where she’d been standing a moment earlier and inhaled.
A pleasant, sweet, almost honey-like scent still lingered in the air.
He sighed, then finally entered the room, changed into his now-familiar superhero costume, and flew out through the window.
He needed to find out why Madelyn Stillwell needed him.